V Square Quantitative Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. $GWW

V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,272 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,293,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GWW. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in W.W. Grainger in the third quarter worth $721,202,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 3rd quarter worth $239,597,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 443,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,529,000 after buying an additional 140,869 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in W.W. Grainger by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,731,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,462,252,000 after buying an additional 104,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in W.W. Grainger by 96.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 149,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,896,000 after buying an additional 73,714 shares in the last quarter. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GWW shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded W.W. Grainger from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,044.00 to $1,047.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, W.W. Grainger has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1,096.71.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In other news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,114.28, for a total value of $1,658,048.64. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,541 shares in the company, valued at $11,745,625.48. This represents a 12.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

GWW opened at $1,147.90 on Thursday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 12-month low of $902.44 and a 12-month high of $1,218.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $1,114.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1,030.40.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The industrial products company reported $9.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.46 by ($0.01). W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 47.46%. The business had revenue of $4.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.71 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2026 guidance at 42.250-44.750 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. W.W. Grainger’s payout ratio is 25.54%.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc (NYSE: GWW) is an industrial supply distributor founded in 1927 and headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company supplies maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services to businesses, institutions and government customers. Over its long history Grainger has developed a broad product assortment and a national distribution network that supports operations across a range of end markets, including manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, transportation and public sector organizations.

Grainger’s product portfolio spans core categories such as electrical and lighting, safety and personal protective equipment, material handling, motors and power transmission, plumbing and HVAC, fasteners and adhesives, hand and power tools, and janitorial and facility supplies.